Democratic Sentinel, Volume 10, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 December 1886 — SCIENTIFIC BILLIARDS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

SCIENTIFIC BILLIARDS.

Schaefer Defeat* Slosson in the Second Championship Game at Cushion Carroms. Some Fine Playing—Scenes and Incidents in the Crowded Hail. Central Music Hall was packed from pit to gallery, Friday evening, with people who had assembled to witness the great cushion-carrom match between George Slosson, of Chicago, and Jacob Schaefer, of St. Louis, the two billiard champions of the world, says the Chicago Daily News. Among the assemblage were many ladies, and the private boxes presented a fine display of elegant toilets. After a few moments 7 delay Mr. John W. McCullough, of St. Louis, stepped forward and introduced the champions with a few timely remarks. The speaker briefly announced the conditions of > tne game—cushion carroms, 500 points up, for $2,000 a side and all the gate receipts. The men lost no time in getting ready for play. Both stripped off their coats and appeared in dark knit jackets. A moment later they were banking for the lead. Schaefer won by an eighth of an inch. In the eighth inning Scha fer made the largest run of the game—4B. Beginning with the balls in the upper left-hand corner of the table, he rattled up the counts at a surprising rate of speed for cushion carroms

Some of his shots barely moved the balls, and yet they all went to the cushion in order to make the count. His delicacy of play surprised even the most knowing ones, and a murmur of admiration ran through the crowded auditorium as he kept on counting. For a while Slosson seemed a little rattled, but after a few singles and a miss or two he began to creep up.

Slosson would keep plodding along until he was within hailing distance of Shaefer, and then the latter would wake up and go speeding along, leaving Slosson behind him. But the game was not stupid, by any means. A great variety of shots were shown, even if the men did not move along very fast, and there were frequent bursts of applause when any surprising venture resulted in a count. At the end of the forty-fifth inning the score stood 200 for Schaefer to 136 for Slosson. Thus far in the game Shaefer had shown himself the stronger of the tw i. His specialty seemed to bo to get the balls near the rail and then, by delicate nursing shots, knock out double figures nearly every time. Slosson, on the other hand, depended more on open-table play, and seemed unable to take advantage of the very positions which netted the most points for his antagonist. In his eighty-first inning ichaefer made a run of 37. During the spurt he gave the finest exhibition of cushion-carrom playing that was ever witnessed in public His delicate mastery of the balls was perfectly marvelous. Men who had been used to see cushion carroms played in hammer-and-tongs style were astounded. The game at that time stood : Schaefer, 416; Slosson, z 59. In the face of Schaefer’s run Slosson rattled up 22 points before he missed on a difficult single-cushion venture. From that time on the game became exciting, as Slosson steadily gained on Schaefer, who seemed unable to play even an ordinary game. For twenty-seven innings he never once reached double figures. He missed easy shots, made a couple of miscues, played in bad luck, and altogether frightened his backers in a most painful manner. In the meantime Slosson was playing much better than he had been doing during any part of the game. After a dozen innings devoted to this staggering duel, Schaefer suddenly s-'omed to recover, and, as easy as if ho were rattling peas in a cup, he knocked out 15 points. Slosson followed with a goose-egg, whilo Schaefer added 7 more buttons to his string. Then Slosson pulled himself together for the last effort, and with many a brilliant shot he collected 17 points, every one of which was worth a $lO bill to him just at that time. Whet/ he at last missed at the 43uth point, just by the width of a hair, Schaefer - chalked his cue, set his teeth, and then, marching up to the table, ho ran up the ten points needed to make game as easily as if nothing were at stake. When the winner scored his five hundredth point Slosson tossed his cue aside and shook Schaefer warmly by the hand', and the next instant two or three hundred excited mon rushed forward and fell on tho little Dutchman. They shipped him on the back, cheered for him, and tried to carry him out of the hall on their shoulders, and would have succeeded had not a friend rushed np and rescued him whil" another friend presented him with an elegant gold watch and chain of Tiffany’s make. Following is tho score: Schaefer—o. 1,0, 2,0, 3,3, 43, 7, C, 0,0, 0,3, 91, 0, 17, 0,0, 0,6, 1,0, 2,0, 0. 22, 4,0, 4,2, 0,0, 3,0, 0, I, 1,6, 28, 9,0, 0, 11, 12, 1,1, 6,0, 1,2, 6,0, 7,1, 3, 0, 15, 0, H. 16,2,2,0,0,0,36,0,0,0, 0,0, 0,0, 36, 0,0, 0,0, 0,0, 0,9, 7, 29. 12, 37, 1,1, 2,7, 2,2, 0 0, 1. 3,1, 0,0, 1,0, 1,0, 8,4, 3,4, 1,0, 1, 4. 3,2, 15, 7, 10—500. Slosson—l, 0,0, 2,3, 14, 2,1, 1,1, 1,0, 5, 15, 17, 4,2, 0,12, 0,0, 2. 0,3, 0,0, 1,12, 0,3, 0,3, 0,6, 0,0, 0,3, 5,0, 3, 0. 1, 13, 0,5, 3, 7,11, 2,6, 1,1, 0,0, 1, 11, 0,1, 1> 0, C. 3,2, 1,0, 1, 17, 10, 2,0, 3,0, 0,5, 3, 6, 3. 10, 0, 22, 1,1, 2, 15, 0, 14, 17, 0,0, 10, 5, 15, 0, 10, 0,6, 4,1, 6,1, 0,6, 3,9, 4,0, 2,0, 17—130. Schaefer—Average, 4 50-111; highest runs, 36. 37, nd 48. Slosson—Average, 3 100-110; highest runs, 17. 17.82.

JACOB SCHAEFER.

GEORGE SLOSSON.